Whistler PRO-78 Laser-Radar Detector with Real Voice Alerts, POP Mode Detection, INTELLICORD ready

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Price: $244.64   

Product Feature

• Blue text display with auto dim/dark modes and LED periscope
• Real voice alerts with quiet/auto quiet mode
• Setting saver, vehicle battery saver, safety waning system
• VG-2 cloaking technology, safety warning system and alert priority
• Includes windshield mounting hardware and power cord

Product Description

Pro-Series Radar/Laser Detector with Voice Alert

Whistler PRO-78 Laser-Radar Detector with Real Voice Alerts, POP Mode Detection, INTELLICORD ready Review

When the Laser Alert "goes off," have your Nitroglycerin pills available. The instructions say that no matter what the volume or other settings are set to, the Laser Alert will go off at maximum volume. It's loud.

Boringly, as you drive down the road, the blue LED display says either "Highway" or "City," but if the point is to display that the detector is On, then I think saying "On" would be an improvement.

The blue LED display is visible in darkness and in sunlight, except if you're wearing Blue-Blocker sunglasses. The yellow tint of the glasses totally obliterates the blue display, even if turned up to full brightness. But the half-beeping / half-vocal audio alarms are sufficient in that case.

There are a couple of extra, bright, decorative [blue] LEDs on top of the unit that can be set to either stay on solidly, or blink only when there's any type warning. They don't convey any useful information, but they might be turned on in case of mobile fiesta. The assorted dim settings don't affect these two LEDs, so if they're active, they're at full brightness. But they can be turned completely off, such as after the party ends.

The Dark setting is not totally dark -- nearby cars can see it at night. The design strategy is that with the Dark setting, the display will go totally dark only during an alert, and stay totally dark for an extra 20 seconds afterwards. In my opinion, that doesn't completely address the concern of offending policemen for having a detector in my car. At night, a policeman (or other cars) will see the dim blue LEDs on top of the dashboard, which say "Highway" or "City." I'm concerned that if a policeman sees the detector, he won't give me the benefit of a few mphs that I might have had if he didn't see the detector. And I'm not interested in non-policemen seeing that I have a detector, either. Enter "The Black Tape."

There is also a Dim mode for nighttime driving -- brighter than Dark, and the LEDs stay lit whether there's an alert or not. I never use the DIM setting.

There are at least three different settings for the X-band sensitivity. I have the sensitivity mildly reduced, and have few false alerts while driving in town, and I'm learning where they are after a while so as not to cause concern. If you're sure there are no X-band radar guns on your trail, the X-band can be completely disabled.

Sorry I can't address the question of sensitivity -- how much time the detector gives you to hit the breaks before the smokey's radar gun measures your speed, but reviews on the internet say the price-to-performance ratio of the Whistler is almost as good as detectors over twice the price. [...]

I have yet to see a message, such as, "Construction Ahead" scrolling across my Pro-78's display. I thought this detector was supposed to be able to do that.

A female voice announces the type of radar alert, followed by beeps that get faster as the signal gets closer, and the visual display reads signal strength from one to nine, to help determine whether they're getting closer or not. At "Nine," the beeping goes "Shave And A HairCut Shave And A HairCut..."

I've recently taken to using the AutoQuiet mode, where the alarm partially drops in volume a few seconds after it goes off. That's a good thing.

I've been meaning to get some replacement suction cups for the windshield mount. They're small, and I assume their lifetime is limited. Whistler sells replacements for some exorbitant price, but I think the Crafts department of Walmart can help. I usually put the detector under the passenger's seat when I'm done, and the last time I did that, both suction cups fell off. That never happened before, so I'm thinking the plastic is starting to shrink.

(2013 update: Sucktion cups are so blas�. I have a sticky-pad on my dashboard which holds the detector sufficiently at night. For semi-stealth daytime use, I pin the detector in the passenger's headrest; Look Ma -- nothing on the dashboard. Not sure what's my strategy if I have a passenger in the daytime, probably put the detector under the seat and drive civil.)

I'm thinking of making a log of alerts for my semi-weekly 4-hour trip, to help me remember where the "false" alerts always go off, and to help me realize if an unexpected alert occurs. Most of the alerts are from temporary traffic signs (the ones with big orange chassis and light-bulb lettering), some of which continue to emit microwaves, even if they're dark with their signage turned off. I found one with a laser, which I assumed was there just to rattle my teeth -- I don't think it has a camera or anything. At least, no one has contacted me. After going past it a few times, I don't worry about it anymore, or any signs, except to minimize collisions with fellow vehicles. It's important to remember that construction workers never have a nice day, but sometimes those signs are out for months on end with no workers anywhere, and state unreasonable limits for the conditions. At least, first check for humans before going too far over a Construction Zone limit.

Finally, I recommend my approach: Use the detector to help learn about enforcement activities, not to evade them. And when you're hit with a radar gun, you'll be proud that you weren't driving in a dangerous manner and that you didn't have to hit the breaks or anything which would have demonstrated you have a guilty conscience.

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Update 2013

It's been a nice consumer-grade detector for the last 6 years. Not a waste of money. I use it more for novelty than evasion. If you're looking to be warned that there's radar around, this will help. If you're looking for a reminder not to speed so much, this will help. But, if you're going to be the first to get gunned, then maybe you should get a $500 detector.

I like the option [on more expensive detectors] of having a built in GPS, and saving the locations that "always beep." Electronically saving noisy locations is easier than trying to remember (with your brain) if the alarm is going off because it always goes off there, or maybe this is Enforcement... My next detector will have "noisy-location-remembering."

After 4 years, the Pro-78 started losing it's mind, occasionally. Maybe that's something I shouldn't criticize someone else about, but a few times a year, it resets to all the default settings, and I have to reset all my preferences. Maybe auto-electronics needs voltage-surge protection, too.

Resetting my preferences becomes an easy chore after doing it a few times. I keep the list of menu settings and their plain-English description (that came with the detector) in my glove box, just in case I can't remember what the more cryptic settings are for, e.g., "Bty Svr [On/Off]."

Hey, what's an "Intellicord?" It's an optional DC cable with a push-button on the cigarette-lighter plug. One of the menu items is to choose which functions will be controllable with the push button. You can affect 2 functions with the push button, depending on whether you push quickly, or hold the button down for a second. You can use the push-button to cycle through the City settings, or the Dim/Dark settings, the Auto-Quiet settings, and maybe a few others. Not every menu item is Intellicord affectable, but many of them are, and you can choose two.

Usually, I forget which two menu items I've set the Intellicord to affect. Honestly, I usually forget that I spent money on the Intellicord, and I use the buttons on top of the detector, anyway.

The audio-prompts work well with the Intellicord. If you press Slow when you should have pressed Quick, it's easy enough to scroll through the 2 or 3 settings to get back where you started, and then press Quick for the other function. I always have Dim/Dark for the Quick push-button.

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